Heroes
by BlackOpal
Summary: Sometimes, all you can do is live... or survive. This is the story of the Animorphs afterwar life and the burdens that come with it.
1. Barely Breathing

A/N: This was _supposed_ to be a short two-chapter story about the after effects of the war. Obviously, the war didn't end how it did in the books and… it's not short. It's like 4,000 words long. Oops. But it's completely worth it, trust me. It is still a two-chapter story (bonus points to whoever can figure out what the next chapter's about). Rachel might seem a little out of character for the sole reason that… she's older? On with the show- read, enjoy, review?

Disclaimer: Wish I owned Animorphs but don't- KA does. Poo. Do own the story though, whee!

* * *

It was 5:30 A.M. when I rolled over that morning. I could hear Tobias's alarm going off in the next room- that annoying _buzz_ I'd grown used to ever since I found out he liked to sleep in. I didn't really mind. He had school this morning and I… was working at some clerical job in the local hospital. I filed patient charts, chatted with the nurses and generally- did nothing. Some hero.

You're probably wondering what the hell is going on. "What about the Yeerks?" you might be asking yourself. "Why is Tobias not up a tree in a meadow somewhere?" And then, the most important question of all, "Why can you hear his alarm clock through the wall?"

We're not married if that's what you're thinking. He's living in my house- more specifically in Granna's room- and has been ever since the end of the war where he stood as my mother opened the door to find Tobias clutching my bloodied, limping body. That's what they had told me at least when I woke up three days later.

I don't know how Tobias convinced my mother that I couldn't go to a hospital. Probably the same way he convinced her to let him stay by my bedside until I opened my eyes and screamed. Or maybe it was the way I convinced mom to let him stay in Granna's room until "things cooled down a little bit".

We never told her what happened and she never asked. I guess she could see the change. For a while she thought I was pregnant. When that proved an insufficient hypothesis, she moved onto bigger and better things like the one where she thought Tobias was in a gang and I was protecting him from the debt collectors. I had laughed when she told me this and said that Tobias was merely a kid who I've known for a long time and he needed a place to stay.

She knew that something big had gone on with me in the past five years. In fact, today- it would be exactly five years. It was the big "Freedom Day". Five years ago today, five kids and a teenaged alien save the world from total destruction, one died in the fight and the rest . . . went back into hiding. We asked the government to keep our names from the media. They gratefully agreed and have kept our identities safer than any secret in the history of the United States. In fact, I think only the President and then head of the secret service know who we are- they were the only ones allowed in the oval office when we demorphed.

Hunger struck me and I threw on sweats. Slowly I made my way down stairs, careful not to wake up Sarah who had expressed her wish to sleep in today. The kitchen called my name and I was determined to answer it. I grabbed cheerios and an apple. There was already a glass of milk sitting on the table. That too, most unfortunately was calling my name. My mother had had a serious talk with me two weeks ago about the amount of calcium I was getting- none. So, in an effort to prevent me from getting osteoporosis at age thirty, began leaving milk on the table for me to wake up to. Thanks mom.

Half a bowl and two-thirds a glass later, Tobias came sauntering into the kitchen. He grabbed the box of Lucky Charms and poured milk up to the top of the bowl- he never had a problem with calcium intake. Plopping down in front of me, he grabbed the spoon and began devouring it. He shoved spoon after spoon into his mouth and reached for my glass to gulp down even more milk.

"You make me sick," I said and his face lit up in a smile.

You think you know someone well enough. You think that since you see them every day, you can't hate them or love them anymore. It's so wrong. Every time I see Tobias's smile, I fall a little bit more in love with him. It's really scary when you think about it, the fact that someone can literally hold your heart in his hand.

"Want to pick me up today? It's a half day with the . . . holiday and all. We could go out for lunch or something." He polished off his bowl with my apple.

"I can't. I have to work all day today. My manager's already pissed that I missed work the other day. You would think that by working at a hospital, they understand the meaning of being 'sick'." He nodded and tried not to look crestfallen. I empathized. Today wasn't exactly a day I wanted to spend without him. It meant a whole nine hours of listening to people say, "I can't believe they haven't been discovered yet" and "Thirteen- I can't imagine. When I look at my little –insert name here-'s face, I can't believe a child could do the things they did. They're heroes."

Tobias, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking, reached over and grabbed my hand. He ran his fingers up and down my wrist. Instantly, I felt better. If he had died that day. . . I shuddered. I couldn't look back. I could only stand up and collapse into his lap. He knew. He knew exactly what I was remembering and he hated himself for not being able to rip it from my head. It was the one memory that could turn me into a sobbing, weak mess on the inside, and a Rachel half than normal on the outside. A Rachel that with a trained eye, would reveal the turmoil going on inside me.

I couldn't save him.

".. . We know that there were two Heroes in the room when the leader was executed. Both were female according to accounts. Each tried to get to the Visser who held the gun to the leader's head before it was too late but both failed. The leader sustained six shots to the head before then human controller Michael Bordshev declared him dead. The remaining Heroes, all thought to be males, entered the room just after-"

"Turn that off Jordan," Tobias said as she walked into the room.

Too late. I'd heard. Suddenly aware of my position on Tobias within Jordan's eyesight- a strict violation of Mom's rules- I hopped off. Jordan, at age eighteen, the same age Tobias was supposed to be, had long had her suspicions about the two of us. I never cared to suppress them. Even weirder than the fact that my sister was the same age as my boyfriend was the fact that they went to the same school and were even in the same French class.

"I'm going for a run." I said, breaking the sudden silence.

Tobias, suddenly aware of what that meant asked, "Are you ok?"

I nodded and brushed hair from my eyes. Strong, butt-kicking Rachel still lives.

"You can go ahead and leave Jordan; I'll make sure that Sarah gets on the bus. See you both later tonight." And I was out the door and gone.

Ever since the end of the war, I'd needed an outlet to take out my aggression. For a while it was Tobias. I was angry at him for dragging me away from the fight, angry at him for not letting me get Jake's body and just angry in general. I missed feeling like I was doing something important. He was just there and I couldn't stop myself. He understood and he put up with it- he didn't know what else to do. And he couldn't leave me, he was worried about me.

It was my mother who sent me to therapy for it. "I don't know what's going on, but you need help." After a long talk about it to Tobias, he went with me and we had a mini-therapy session. I couldn't explain why I was so angry and Tobias never said a word. That's when the therapist suggested going for a daily run. It proved a good compromise and I started running whenever I felt weak or got mad at Tobias. Within the year, I was up to eight miles a day. On the really bad days, I could do fifteen miles before I had to stop out of exhaustion.

This particular day I ran three miles. I could only go so far. My mind was racing with nothing else to focus on. I tried counting steps, tried thinking of a new filing system for the back room at work, I even tried to think of what I could cook for dinner tonight- nothing worked. My thoughts kept returning to that day. The faces, the sounds, even the smells infiltrated my run and I couldn't concentrate. It was when I actually saw it, the execution and Cassie's look afterward that I turned around and began to walk home.

Cassie. It'd been five years and we didn't know where she was. Last time anyone saw her was at the memorial service. She ran off after that. Marco thinks she went to the east coast. To get away from it all, he had said right before he followed her. Tobias thought Jake had asked him to look after her right before… he remembered Marco stopping in mid-sentence and collapse after.

I missed them both.

The home was empty when I got there. I'd taken too long on the run and Sarah had already gotten off to middle school. At least I hoped. It was seven thirty. I had another hour and a half before I had to be at the hospital. I showered, changed and sat down in front of the TV, hoping to get a few minutes of morning talk shows in before I left for the day.

Channel 04- good old Good Morning America. Charles Gibson was looking intently at the expert, preparing to grill him about whatever he felt obliged to inform the nation of today.

"Why do you think they've remained anonymous? Are they alive?"

Shit, of course they would be talking about this. It's the fifth anniversary- what else would Charles Gibson be interested in talk about?

"Oh of course they're alive," the expert- who apparently was a former controller who'd been in the control room at the time- "If you think about it, they're being incredibly smart staying under wraps. These are kids who spent their entire childhood looking at their parents at dinner and thinking 'I could be dead before you wake up' and then leave to fight a battle worse than anything any soldier's been in. They've had legs chopped off, their intestines sprayed all over the floor-"

"Ok, that was _once_." I informed the expert.

"They just want to lead a normal life. Some of them might even have kids by now. They're about their early twenties- at least that is what we've hypothesized."

Kids- ha- like I could raise kids in this state of mind.

Goodbye Good Morning America. It's time for work.

I drove to work and managed to punch in on time for once. The files weren't that bad, mostly went in the ER section of the Medical Records room. It was solitary work. Normally I enjoyed it but now, left alone with my thoughts, it sucked.

"Rachel," My boss, a medical school drop out, appeared behind me. "I need you to pull these records off the shelf. I know it'll probably take a while and I know I'm asking a lot of you considering it's a holiday and all but this has got to be done before tomorrow. The Brown party's going to slam the hospital with a lawsuit we have to be ready for." He paused and looked at me for a moment. I knew what was coming; he'd been expressing interest in me for quite a while. Any other twenty-two year old would bow down to him. He was cute, young (late twenties) and successful- he did control the entire Medical Records section of the hospital. Of course, it's safe to say I wasn't any old twenty-two year old. I had an eighteen year old boyfriend after all. "You know, if you want me to stay and help, we could make a night out of it. Order in Chinese, listen to crappy music, swap stories about where we were when we first heard aliens had tried to take over the Earth and five teenagers controlled our fate."

At the last words, I turned a bit hostile. Making a joke out of that was a little low just to get a date out of me.

"I don't think so," I said, a little harsher than I meant to.

"Ah, ok. I can take a hint." He plopped the stack of medical numbers on the table next to me. "Well, I'll still order you Chinese in case you get hungry. Egg drop soup right?"

I nodded and he left. I looked at my watch- four thirty. Way past the time I'd told Tobias I'd be home. This stack would probably add another three hours. I'd better be getting overtime for this.

By the time I'd pulled the last Brown record from the shelf, it was eight o'clock and I really needed a run. I couldn't get out of the hospital fast enough and nearly ran over a volunteer escorting an extremely anesthetized patient to their ride. It was only after I got in the car that I realized I'd left the dinner on the table completely untouched. It would probably offend my boss once he got there the next morning but I frankly didn't care.

I wanted to go home.

The deafening silence led me to seek solace in the radio. Oops. It was like the day that kept stewing until I finally threw myself into the pot of boiling water.

"Anyone who was a former controller or thinks they have any inside info they can give us, give us a call. We're talking about the Heroes- where they are now, how they got the power to morph, anything. Caller on line one, go ahead."

"Hi, is this me?"

"Yep, go ahead."

I turned left, and went past the mall. The Yeerk Pool had been underneath it, it was there that we'd had our first experience. It was there Tobias had been trapped in what I'd thought then as a hawk for forever.

"Yea, I was there when the leader got executed. It was intense. The two, well I guess they were the girls, they were in a grizzly bear and a wolf morph and they were just ripping into the Hork Bajir the Visser kept sending out and . . ."

There was the school, where I'd been sitting just moments before the Controllers burst in and rounded up all the kids. They knew we were kids… we were just kids.

"But anyway, all the sudden, the Visser got a hold of the leader and held the gun to his head. The two girls turned and one of them cried out- it was kinda like a scream that you didn't hear but could hear. They told me it was called thought speak. . ."

There was the stop light where if I only turned right and drove a few miles I could end up at the (still free) Hork Bajir valley. I kept driving straight.

"The bear tried to get to him, she tried to like kick the gun from the Visser's hand I guess- she really should've known it would've been too late- but anyway, she tried to get there-"

I turned into the neighborhood.

Turn the channel Rachel, turn the channel. You know what happens next, you know the story. Change the channel.

But I didn't.

"They blew his brains out. Blood and gore was everywhere. It was so gross- even my controller was repulsed. And then the Hero just fell in his tiger morph. I kinda felt bad for him, he didn't even get to die human. I guess he wanted to help keep the others' identities secret or something but anyway. There was so much blood. I couldn't believe the blood and the stench. The other two were just screaming and suddenly the other Heroes walked in . . ."

Home. I threw open the door so hard I forgot to take the keys out of the ignition. It was still on when I ran into the house and threw open the door.

"Rachel what's wrong?" My mom asked me as I darted for the stairs. In fact, she practically screamed. I didn't blame her; she'd never seen me as upset as I was now.

I never really let it all out before. The pressure of being "Let's do it" Rachel, the one who never, ever showed weakness and who always wanted to be in the war in the first place, got to me.

I needed him.

He was sprawled out on his bed, listening to music and doing his homework. If I had been saner I would've saw the irony in that. He saw me out of the corner of his eye and took in the state of me. I was on the verge of a breakdown. Rolling over, he pulled the earphones out of his ears. It was the only invitation I needed. I walked to the bed and slipped between his legs. My head found a spot on top of his chest and I buried myself in his arms.

The tears came in dry sobs. I couldn't even cry for Jake the right way. Tobias held me tighter and ran his fingers under my shirt, resting his fingers on my pulse point. He traced my spine up and down and I, for some weird reason, began to breathe. The rising and falling of his chest kept reminding me that he was alive, that I at least saved someone. That didn't stop me from my agony. I screamed into his chest. He just told me that everything was going to be ok.

Through half open eyes, I saw my mom in the doorway. She took in the scene with a relative calm that I'd never seen, especially considering the fact that I was lying in an extremely close proximity to a boy on his bed. She made a move towards us and sat at the head of the bed next to Tobias. I could smell her perfume mixed with Tobias'.

She took a deep breath and then said it. Her voice was low and haunting, "You two were Heroes weren't you."

It was as if the world had suddenly stopped and all that existed was that bed and the three of us on it. I choked on yet another sob and saw Tobias close his eyes in defeat. It was all the confirmation she needed.

The burden of hiding it from my mom was suddenly gone and I could be her normal child again- or as normal as I could be after that. So many years, so many miles I had to jog just to protect the truth from her and now it was out. I cried harder just from relief.

She reached over to touch my face. She wiped the spot where tears would be if I could still cry.

"My poor baby," she was crying now. I envied her; at least her tears were real. Then, in a move I will never forget, she reached up and kissed Tobias, then me. "I'm so sorry," she said, "so sorry."

I don't know how long we stayed like that. I woke up next to Tobias, covered by a sheet and wearing shoes. I was still exhausted yet extremely thirsty. Careful not to wake him, I rolled over and headed down to the kitchen.

Surprisingly, the glow from the family room caught my attention. My mother was sitting in front of a muted TV. I walked towards her and her head snapped around.

"Oh, Rachel. You scared me."

"Sorry," I said, "What are you watching?"

She quickly turned the channel. "Nothing- just something on home gardening."

The TV showed nothing of the sort, it was an infomercial. I picked up the remote and pressed the previous channel button. Images of fights and blood filled the screen. It was a result of a camera that'd been snuck in by a resistance Yeerk. Someone had sold it to the station and they were playing all the clips of it.

Stunned, I backed up and sat on the couch. I didn't have to have sound- I remembered every fight they were showing. In fact, there I was- me and the grizzly, pounding some Taxxon over the head like they were silly putty, which to me, back then, they probably were.

"That's you?" My mom asked. I nodded, suddenly ashamed to admit it.

"Tobias is behind me in the hawk morph." My mother pursed her lips in a sign of recognition.

"I should've known," she said.

"You couldn't have." I replied.

Then- a tiger leapt on the screen. The magnificent animal pounced on the Hork Bajir that was attempting to attack a wolf.

"Oh God," It escaped my lips before I could stop it. Suddenly, tears fell down my cheeks in unabashed rivers. There he was. For the first time in five years, he was alive and fighting. Exactly how I left him. "Jake."

My mother understood.

A noise behind me and soon Tobias was behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. He watched the TV with the hawk like stare I'd thought had left him. The room was quiet, like a tomb.

The clip ended and another battle where we all lived was finished.

"Come on honey," Tobias said, pulling me arm, "You gotta get some sleep."

My mother startled at the title, suddenly realizing that our relationship went deeper than your typical boyfriend-girlfriend status. And later I would yell at him for using a name like that to refer to me but after my run, I'd forgive him and understand his concern.

He led me to his room and curled up next to me.

"Tobias," I asked into the darkness.

"Hm?"

"I love you." It was the first time in a long time I had said it and it didn't go unnoticed. He pulled me closer to him.

"I love you too."

I felt asleep with his lips touching my temple, finally happy to let someone else be the brave one for once. I needed to be held and I was tired of being the old Rachel.

My mother remained on the couch, killing herself for not seeing what was going on with her daughter- not like she ever could have.


	2. Floating Beneath the Surface

A/N: I loved this story. I think it was one of my favorite fanfics I've ever written. It's certainly the most I've ever written for two chapters and I think it's because I truly felt every single emotion of these guys. sniffles I love them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

* * *

"Come on honey, we're going to be late," I said without success. It was, after all, a woman up there, locked in the bathroom getting ready for a formal party with all the big shots of New York City. There was no way she was coming down on time.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, I stole a glance at my watch—7:30. The party was scheduled to start at 8 o'clock sharp. We still had to fight the traffic to get all the way to Upper Manhattan. It was impossible.

"If we're not there on time, they won't let us through the doors. It says here on the ticket 'Doors sealed and locked at 8:05.'" It was cruel sure, but I had to get her down somehow. Otherwise she would have contented herself with spritzing and fluffing. It was just down right disgusting what some girls did to their hair.

She appeared in the doorway in her typical fluttering manner. I had to hold my jaw up to keep it from falling to the ground. She was gorgeous. Her dress was a blue or a purple, I couldn't quite see in the dark. What I could see was her neckline that plunged down to God-knows-where and the necklace that encouraged my eyes to go lower and lower. And the heels—the heels were high enough to make her legs seem three inches taller, and made me very much want to stay in tonight.

"If we're supposed to be there at 8:00 and it is 7:30 now, we still have at least another fifty minutes."

I never said she was bright however. I'm sure you can forgive me; her looks were more than worth it. Yes, I was that shallow. You have obviously never seen Addison.

"Well, I want to get the first champagne bottle. Those are always the best." This earned a reluctant sigh from her and she slipped into her mink coat (bought with Daddy's money). I held the door open as she left the apartment. On the way down to the street, the bellhop gazed longingly at Addison's legs and followed up until they disappeared under her skirt. It was good getting the hot girl for once. No more jokes about how they all run and cower from me like Rach… nevermind.

In the car, Addison was a bit more open to my flirtatious looks. She pulled her skirt up _even more_ to reveal thigh I didn't know she could reveal and looked expectantly with me. To her, this party was another chance to dress fancy and drink expensive champagne, maybe rub elbows with the numerous clients my agency represented. I was the public relations manager for the country's leading real estate law firm. Parties with them meant fundraising and connection building. Naturally, I was required to attend since connection building was my job.

It was too bad because now I wanted nothing more than turning this car around and locking myself in my apartment with Addison and forgetting this day ever existed. Everyday I tried to forget my past and 364 days out of the year, I succeeded. This happened to be the one day I fail miserably, the very day my boss, the CEO of Ashmore, Cabrera & Ralph, decides to throw his annual charity bash.

It was this day, five years ago, that Jake died and we won the war against the Yeerks. They called it Hero Day and to the people of the world, there was no greater holiday than this. Our day rivaled even Christmas. Everybody celebrated Hero Day, regardless of race or religion. From the most deserted desert in Africa to the highest mountain top in Asia, people sat around their dinner tables and wondered—who were the Heroes? Everybody wondered, that is, except for four exhausted twenty-somethings who've made every attempt to blend into society and forget it happened.

Pulling up the driveway to the Ashmore mansion where the party was being held, it was obvious that there was no way to avoid the holiday. Everywhere silver balloons hung in a sign of remembrance to the Heroes. The internationally accepted symbol of the Heroes plight was etched fantastically before the entrance—a sword turned downward, gripped by five hands and a talon. The finishing touch was the symphony written sometime after the last battle in honor of the Heroes, playing softly as the invited guests waltzed up to the front door and the valets took their cars away to the large parking lot down the street. It was all very elaborate and as Addison got out of the car, her eyes lit up with expectation.

"Hurry up, Marco," She squealed as she placed her high heels on the carpet. She was waiting to be swept into the mansion like any other superstar. I breathed in. It was going to be rough.

We entered the room and all the noise stopped dead as the occupants saw Addison. To say she was beautiful in her gown was definitely an understatement. Slowly, the women got their husband's or boyfriend's hearts to beat and I led Addison slowly towards the end of the hall where Mr. Ashmore and Mr. Ralph waited—Mr. Cabrera was suspiciously missing from the line up.

"Marco," Mr. Ralph took my hand in a sweeping motion. He dropped it very quickly as he took in Addison. "Enchanted," he added as he kissed the palm of her hand. She giggled and batted her eyelashes as if she was completely innocent to the innuendos he was feeding her with his eyes. I saw her push her leg out a little from her dress—I may be handsome but there was no way in hell I was as rich as Mr. Ralph. In all honesty, I really didn't mind.

"I'm Addison," she said with her sing-song voice, and I placed a hand along her back to guide her to Mr. Ashmore. Mr. Ralph did not take his eyes off of her until I moved in front of her. Even then, I could feel his glare drilling holes into my back.

"Good evening, Marco. Who is this enchanting woman besides you?" Mr. Ashmore shook my hand firmly. By the way he asked, I could tell he held no interest in Addison and was just being polite. It was the rare occasion when a man wasn't interested in Addison, but she didn't seem to notice.  
"This is my girlfriend Addison Cullen." Addison threw yet another dazzling smile towards Mr. Ashmore and he did not so much as falter under it. Movement came from behind him and a woman came into our view.

She was dressed in a red flowing gown that scooped below her neck and framed her chest perfectly. It clung to her curves before ending in a slight train. It was understated and she wore a simple diamond necklace with her hair wrapped in a falling bun. Her beauty made Addison look like a porn star. She was the 1920s movie star and Addison was Britney Spears during her KFed phase.

"They ran out of the white wine so I had to get you red," she said as she slipped a glass into Mr. Ashmore's hand.

"Ah, here you are," he said, placing a kiss on the woman's cheek. "Might I introduce to you Marco, our Public Relations manager and his significant other, Addison? Marco, Addison, this is my fiancée, Cassandra."

At that moment, everything clicked. Years of looking, searching, wondering and failure had led me here to this very moment. Ironically, it was on the five year anniversary that we were all brought together.

"Cassie." I breathed. She looked at me sharply. It took only a moment for her eyes to recognize my olive skin, dark hair and slightly-less then average height. A wave washed over her and she quickly stiffened. I could practically see the fight within her; one side wanted to run, the other wanted to cry. She remained composed.

"No one's called me that since I was little," then, "I'm sorry—do I know you?"

The message was clear; not here, not now. She obviously wanted to keep the Animorph part of her life separate. I couldn't argue, but I was not giving up so easily. It'd been five years since she boarded that plan to New York City. She knew about the promise I'd made to Jake, and she wanted to make my life harder.

"No," I said, "I just knew a Cassandra a long time ago, we all called her Cassie. My mistake."

Cassie nodded and looked towards her fiancé. "They're asking for you in the kitchen, something about the lobster tail exploding. They're frantic."

"Excuse me," he said, "This must be handled." Addison and I nodded. It was clearly time to move on from the introductions. "There is wine and appetizers in the corner, feel free to help yourself." With that, he moved away from the hallway. Cassie followed him, obviously refusing to stay anywhere near the vicinity of me.

"She was pretty," Addison said to me, "But she was missing something-- mascara or eye shadow… one of those. It looked as if she'd never worn a bit of make-up in her life."

Because she hadn't, but I didn't tell that to Addison. She would've asked too many questions.

_Take care of Cassie Marco, don't let her stop her life just because I'm dead.  
_You're not dying, Jake.  
_I'm gone, Marco. They've got a gun. Just promise me—protect her.  
_Buddy…  
_Promise.  
_I promise.

But he'd never heard my promise. I'm sure there's some rule about how if the dying person never heard you promise back, it doesn't count. Technically, I didn't have to keep it. Truthfully, I knew I did. Jake's legend lived on only in the four of us and I had every intention on keeping it alive. In all four of is, Cassie included.

"Marco," Addison's cool hands were on my arm. "Did you want the red wine or the vodka?"

"Just a coke, I'm driving home remember?" She rolled her eyes at my pious plight. We both knew that I always drove home with some alcohol in my blood. Looking down at her now, I was suddenly ashamed of everything. I was using her just as she was using me.

Jake was so much better than me in that way. And Cassie. She'd always been the good one, the one I'd have trusted my life to. She was different now, cold and unresponsive. I'd done a shit job at protecting her and regardless of spending those five years searching for her here on the east coast, I'd failed Jake. My promise was never kept. I let her fall and I didn't protect her.

I felt very far away from everyone now. Rachel and Tobias had each other back in California. Here I was in New York, standing in front of Cassie and it was as if the Animorphs had never existed to her. She pretended like she was one of the millions of people who wondered who the Heroes were every year when the holiday rolled around. Addison, standing beside me didn't help much.

I resolved to change all this. I'd made a promise and I was damn well going to keep it. I steered Addison towards a group that was forming around the television—flat screened plasma that took up almost the entire wall, only the best for the Ashmore mansion. The crowd opened up to admit Addison, and thus by association I was allowed in. News reports played out on the screen, showing various commentators as they detailed the fights the Heroes had gone through. Occasionally, a so called expert would flash images onto the screen and explain what the Heroes were feeling, how they came up with their tactics… how they survived the war.

Watching this, I felt somewhat amused. If we'd had those experts back when we needed them during the fight, we certainly would've fared better than we did in the end. Cassie's back was to the T.V., she didn't need to relive the memories apparently. Looking at her, I wondered if she'd actually remembered deep down the fun times we'd had, or whether she forgot that too.

I understood her want to reject her past. I'd tried to do it when I first came to the Big Apple and everywhere there were people talking about the war. I didn't want to dwell on all the baggage that came with being a Hero… or an Animorph. We promised we'd sink into a life that all the normal people had, the people who didn't wake up screaming from nightmares they had of being stuck in a fly's body forever.

I threw myself into finding a job, and once I had one, I threw myself into keeping it and getting promoted. Without a college education and being so young, my options were limited. It was my boyish charm, probably one of the only things I'd kept from my past, which allowed me to finally assume my position in the company. It wasn't until much later when I realized that Cassie and I had both been running away, and that I was just using her as my excuse to run away from Jake's death. After I understood this, I grew up.

I peered at Cassie over my wine glass, vaguely aware of the cleavage Addison was intentionally flashing to the business men across from her. Cassie was calm and composed, as if she was on another planet. Her eyes were dead inside and came to life only when they briefly met mine. They held pain and hurt and when she looked away, they assumed the lifeless gaze.

"Amazing," Mr. Ralph, who had joined our circle sometime when I was in the middle of my thoughts, declared. "Can you just imagine what these children had to go through? Mr. Ashmore, where were you when you found out the world was saved by five children and an alien?"

I shot a look at Cassie and saw my reflection in her face, drained of color. Of course it would come to this, it always does. After watching a few minutes of the battles on T.V., people inevitably turn to one another and ask where they were that fateful day, or what they would have done if they were one of the Heroes. It was practically law these days.

"I was coming out of my office in Washington D.C. and I actually saw the animals walking up the mall to the White House, surrounded by guards. People were screaming all over, but I knew that it was something monumental. I took a picture actually; it's hanging above the fireplace. You can even see the grizzly holding the tiger in her arms."

People turned to look at the picture. I felt Addison eagerly look over her shoulder. All around me, eyes fell upon the picture. Cassie stared at me, silently begging me not to turn. I felt every part of her body pleading with me not to leave her, to stay oblivious with her. She didn't want me to turn because that would mean that she had to look. She wanted me to stay in there with her, in the present and not sink back in the past to that day when the four of us defeated and exhausted, walked that long way to the White House to finish the war. She couldn't relive it, and I had promised to protect her. I didn't look.

"What about you Marco, didn't you tell me once that you were from the same town in California as the Heroes? Did you loose anybody you knew?" All eyes were on me now, held in as much attention as the picture did.

'Don't say it,' Cassie's eyes begged. 'Don't go back.' But I was trapped. Mr. Ralph already knew my story and I, being his Public Relations manager, had to build relations.

"Um…," I shifted uncomfortably, trying to figure out how best to word the story I was about to tell and how best not to hurt one of the people I loved most in the world. "Yea. I was from the same town. It was a big surprise you know, after the community found out, they ripped up the mall and the schools and stuff. People had said that there was a Yeerk pool under that part of town, so they destroyed that."  
"Didn't you loose your best friend?" He inquired; he already knew the answer of course. He just wanted the story to be more dramatic for my audience.

There it was. With that Cassie turned away from me and looked at her hands. I saw a few tears escape her guard. I'd failed. I couldn't protect her from this.

"My best friend died in the final battle. He was shot." It was said in a voice that was so strained, I could barely hear it. Emotion leaked out of places where it had been stored for so many years.

Satisfied, Mr. Ralph looked to other members of the circle. A few stories here and there were offered. One was cooking in the kitchen with her newborn, another was walking home from college class—all the stories were so simple. People offered them up effortlessly and the others eagerly listened. Until there was only one person left to share their story. They looked at Cassie expectantly. She hadn't looked up from her hands since I spoke.

"Cassandra," Mr. Ralph pressed, "How about you? Do you remember?"

"I pass."

Mr. Ashmore startled from beside her and nudged her shoulder. "Come on darling, you remember. You've told me a great number of times." Then to all of us, "She's a little shy."

"I don't want to talk about it." Her voice was harsh and final.

He faltered, his carefully composed face fell if only for a few seconds. "She lost her boyfriend," he explained, as if that made up for everything. From beside him, Cassie breathed in deeply.

"Dinner is served," a maid said from somewhere in the next room. A commotion ensued as everyone dropped the conversation we'd been having and moved into the dining room. I gripped Addison's arm hard and dragged her away. I was feeling very claustrophobic in that circle all the sudden. From behind me, I heard Cassie say that she had to go to the ladies' room and remove herself from the circle as well.

Once seated, I had time to think about what had just been said. Mr. Ashmore was a dick that, if anything, was certain. To make Cassie expand on that night when she so clearly didn't want to was just a way to make an ass out of himself. Addison remained oblivious to my pouting and focused all of her attention on the CEO across her which in turn, made her an ass. I was surrounded by people's whose lives were built in a sheltered world and I had finally had enough of it.

I was so different from the happy kid I'd once been. I guess loosing your best friend does that to you. No, now I really had only one purpose in life—protect Cassie. It was a job I completely intended to start once she got back from the bathroom. My duties could only go so far.

By the fifth course, some weird duck and lobster trio which was apparently created by chefs in some competition off the Bravo network, I began to worry. Cassie wasn't back yet and even Mr. Ashmore was looking a bit antsy. A servant walked in and fluently came to a stop besides him. The servant bent down and whispered something in his ear. Mr. Ashmore excused himself from the table and walked out of the room.

That was my cue. If I was going to be a dashing Prince Charming, this was my chance. I knew it had something to do with Cassie. I stood up, Addison barely noticed, and walked from the room in time to see Mr. Ashmore and the servant disappearing up the stairs of the mansion. There were four floors to the house, plus a loft which is where they finally came to a stop. By the time I reached it, a crowd had gathered in the center of the loft.

The place was dark since the loft was completely surrounded by windows. The only light was hanging from the lights off the eight-foot high ceiling. Couches and plush seats were situated throughout the room and it was in one of these that I could hear hysterical sobs. Children were gathered around; it was here that the rich CEOs downstairs sent their kids to be taken care of during the party.

"Darling," I heard Mr. Ashmore say in the midst of it all, "What's wrong? Has something happened? Are you hurt?"  
I pushed my way to the front of the crowd, not hard to do considering the oldest was about twelve. Cassie was there, curled on a chair and crying a river. Justin Timberlake would've been proud. She was inconsolable. She didn't seem to be listening to anyone and after what seemed like forever; she finally looked up to her fiancé. Only she looked past him, her eyes settled on me.

"Marco." That was all she had to say, I pushed Mr. Ashmore a little harsher than was necessary and knelt in front of her. "Protect me."

Within a moment, I had her in my arms. She soaked my shirt and messed my hair with her hands, searching to hold me closer. She needed the connection as much as I did and I didn't even know I needed it until she was there. I was only vaguely aware of Mr. Ashmore looking on and even less so of the children.

"I want to go home," she said. I nodded. I knew she meant home, home.

I picked her up, amazed at how light she actually was. Suddenly, I knew I hadn't done my job. She was too thin, too depressed, and too sad. She'd been left alone for too long and it was my fault.

'What are you doing," Mr. Ashmore said, stepping into my path. "She wants to go home, to our home."

I shook my head. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Darling," he said, taking her hand in his and pressing it to his face, "Let me take you home. It's been a long day and I shouldn't have pressed you. Forgive me." He made a move to take her from me, but she held tighter.

"I need Marco." With that, I carefully walked downstairs. We had a reception in the living room, and quite a surprise for me as Addison unraveled herself around the CEO she met at dinner. I was too focused to really care and waved off her attempt to set things right with her.

My car was already waiting for us when we got outside. I slipped her into the passenger seat and managed to steady myself enough to get into the driver's seat. Everything felt right; all of the Animorphs were together—even if half of them were on the other side of the coast. We were going home on the next flight available tomorrow.

Once home, I picked up Cassie. She'd fallen asleep having cried so hard. I took off her shoes and put her in my bed. After that, I collected everything of Addison's and threw it in the front yard, figuring that she'd get the picture then. With that task done, I took the position of protector and sat next to the sleeping Cassie.

The phone woke me from one of the more uncomfortable sleeps I've had in my life. It jarred me from a dream and I grabbed it before it had the chance to do the same thing to Cassie. She had a smile on her face; I wanted her to be happy.

"Hello?"  
"Hey Marco," It was a thoroughly uncomfortable Tobias, which meant bad news. "Listen um… Rachel's mom knows. She figured it out. Rachel had a bad day today with everything, we both did actually and her mom just knew. Motherly instincts I guess."

"Mmm," I said in my attempt to break the silence.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know."

"How's Rachel holding up?"

"She's hanging in there. Sometimes I think that I can't even fix what's going on in her head. It's kind of like she makes these problems for herself that she only wants to be solved by a best friend… by Cassie more specifically."

With that my eyes flew to Cassie, sleeping on the bed.

"Yea um, about that…. She's here man. I found her."  
Silence. I knew Tobias was wrestling with all the things I'd been fighting tonight before I heard him say, "She's there? With you?"  
"Yes, she's sleeping to be exact."

"Should we…" He didn't have to finish. It was the same question I wanted to ask him myself.

"I think so, man." I practically felt him nod over the phone.

"Ok."

I gripped the phone and reached over to shake Cassie awake.

"Here," I said and pressed the phone to her ear. She was disoriented and exhausted, but she obediently took the phone in her hand.

There was a minute of silence.

"_Rachel?_" Her voice held so much feeling, and I watched her face fall. For the second time that night, she sobbed uncontrollably and clutched the phone as if it was her lifeline which kept her from death. To her, it probably was.

She listened for a little bit, choking over her staggered breath.

"I miss you too," she said, "so much."

And with those words, for the first time in five years, I knew that everything was going to be ok.


	3. Coming Up for Air

A/N: There was a request for all of them to meet up, and I promise you that was never my intention. I liked them hanging there on opposite coasts…. However, apparently the gang didn't like this idea considering they plagued me with constant ideas of how to do this fic. (The image of the two finally meeting and the final conversation in the car were the two main ones if anyone cared to know). So I sat down in between my COLLEGE classes—I'm a big girl now—and cranked it out. I'm still proud to say that I love this fic and that it's one of my favorites now. I hope it is yours too. As far as I know… this is the end. However, I said that last time so you can never be too sure. Read and enjoy!

Rachel pulled up exactly three minutes before the bell rang. I know this because I could see her pull her hair back and check her face in the rearview mirror all before climbing out. My last class had a window that faced directly into the student parking lot. It was amazing how quickly my life grew to revolve around her. After five years of just trying to stay alive, it turned into six very long years of just trying to make her happy.

I saw the boys across the isle look at Rachel. She was dressed in a white flowing dress and looked like an Amazon version of some Grecian goddess… with blonde hair of course. There was the usual muttering and whispers of jealousy as the glared back to where I was sitting, patiently taking down the notes that the teacher had written on the board in the final moments. It was Calculus; something I had easily learned over various nights of staying at Rachel's—math was never her strong point. The whole school knew that the she and I were dating, though no one knew exactly why a twenty-one year old potential model would ever be interesting in some brooding, mysterious eighteen year old. That was exactly the reason she was interested.

We had gone through some hard times; times where I wasn't even sure if we could make it through. Losing Jake was hard, watching her break down and waste away into nothing was even harder. But even then, I knew that as I held her crying or as I endured her endless screams and rants that she was hurting just as much as I was. I knew that she didn't really mean anything she said and that in the end, all she wanted was me. There was nothing that she needed more than me. In that way, we'd changed a lot. We grew up with each other, matured and evolved. Our lives were interlaced in some gigantic and complicated dance with fate and as long as we didn't let go of each other's hand, we'd be ok.

Not that the relationship didn't have its advantages. After all, those boys in my class might be looking at her and imagining her with her clothes of, but I was the only one who had ever seen them off. They knew that too. That's why I didn't get beat up anymore. Well, that and the fact that going through an intergalactic war and watching on of your best friends die right in front of you tends to toughen you up a little.

The bell rang. I didn't rush outside. I had to make it appear as if everything today was normal, that nothing was out of the ordinary, like today wasn't the day we were reuniting with our other half. Nonetheless, I was across the parking lot in five minutes flat, skipping even my locker just to be near her faster. In three quick strides, I was right besides her.

"Hey," she mumbled from behind her sunglasses. From the voice I knew that she had been crying. There was distance between us, careful planning due to the fact that the principal had already questioned her "motives" with me. I reached out to touch her hand which was limp at her side, resting against the red paint of her car. I felt for her pinkie and wrapped my entire hand around it. This was enough, I thought. Just the touch of her, to know her real and that I actually have her after all these years was enough.

She surprised me by closing the gap. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around my waist. I dropped my hands and ran them up the sides of her arms. After a few tense seconds, I heard her exhale… and inhale again. She kept her head down against my chest, as if collecting the strength to finally look up at me.

I was used to times like these. Her sessions with her therapist had told her to break down the wall around me and let me in. It had taken time, but once she got used to feeling weak around me and saw that I was always there to comfort her, she began to let me in. Today, I'd figured she would be like this. Hell, I'd been fighting back the urge to throw up all through History class. I couldn't imagine what she was going through knowing that she was on the verge of seeing Cassie again.

I felt her lips against my neck, kissing with the urgency. They made their way up to my ear. I felt her push back her sunglasses and was rewarded with Rachel. Her eyes met mine and she smiled.

"I love you," she whispered. Yea, the end of the war had definitely changed her.

I kissed the top of her head, still aware that there were multitudes of cars behind us who were watching from the safety of their tinted windows.

"You ready to go?" I responded. She nodded and withdrew from me, pulling her sunglasses back over her eyes. She became Amazon Rachel again, the Rachel that she showed to the real world and shoved the one she kept only for me back onto the shelf. She strolled back around to the driver's side and I opened the door to the passengers'. She was driving of course, she'd be too nervous if she didn't have something to occupy her time with.

For the most part, we drove in silence. But, as we neared the airport, I could see her growing antsy. She drummed her fingers on the gearshift as we slowed to the airport's exit. Once we got in sight of actually physical airplanes, she began to run her fingers through her hair, a sure sign that she was on the brink of going insane from the pressure. I reached over and covered her hand, silencing the odd off-beat tune that she seemed content on making louder. I did it partly to keep my sanity and partly to comfort her. She smiled, knowing what the gesture meant.

Ages ago, when we were driving to Jake's funeral in Rachel's mom's van, I'd been forced to sit in the backseat with Sara and Jordan. The entire car ride consisted of tears and screams and hypothesizes as to where the body was. From her parents in the front seat to her aunt in the captain and her sisters in the back, there was talk of the Heroes surrounding us. It was almost overshadowing the event we were going to, mixing the happiness of winning a war with the sadness of losing a cousin and a nephew. For our part, we were quiet. Rachel was silent the whole way and I could see the guilt and blame written on her face. I knew that in her head she was thinking what could've happened if she was three seconds earlier. Though it had already been agreed that we'd keep our relationship from her family, I made a split second decision to break all that. From the back, I reached for her hand and bent down to kiss her fingertips. I was doing it from the side that her two sisters couldn't see and to them, it'd appeared as if I was just looking out the window. Slowly, I picked up her ring finger and drew careful and deliberate circles around it. She turned to look at me, shocked. Her eyes darted from the back of her mother's seat to her aunt's. Finally, after what seemed like years, she closed her eyes and amidst all the talk of Jake's death and the gore that was the war and the glory that was the Heroes, she nodded knowing full well what she was doing. For a few brief seconds, Jake was completely forgotten, but in wake of the situation, I figured he'd forgive us.

Now, back in the car, Rachel seemed to be breathing normally again. She still clutched the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, still drummed off-beat on the steering wheel at stoplights and still shifted her eyes too quickly between the rearview mirror and the windshield. I was willing to take all that in exchange for her careful breathing.

"What time does the plane land?" I asked.

"Six," she said simply.

I stole a glance at the watch on the dashboard. It flashed four o'clock. The drive from school had taken two hours. I could see the airport looming above us, the watch tower sticking out prominently as if it had nothing to fear. All around us, planes were landing and taking off. Rachel pulled off at the exit and managed to maneuver around the multitudes of people that were flocking out of the airport. Families, business partners, and vacationers flooded through those doors and I couldn't help but think what it would be like to walk out in another three hours with two extra people. …It'd been years since we were all together under one roof. Could we handle it?

In the time I was wondering this, Rachel had parked the car.

"I don't know if I can do this," she muttered. Her eyes shifted to take in mine. I slid across to her, and took her face in mine.

"You know you can, you're Amazon Rachel remember? You can do anything." I paused to kiss her eyelids and forehead, which happened to be burning from the anticipation of what we were about to do. "Besides, I'm right here."

She nodded and took my hand, kissing the palm. It was my weak spot and she knew it. She evolved into the Rachel I loved most, the wild and reckless one. I felt her lips trail up my arm and pass over my shirt. Without hesitating, she made her way onto my neck, busying herself with my collarbone. After a while, I began to lose all sense of what we were about to do and let myself slide my arms around her. She had already taken control, pressing against the hollow base of my neck. A moan escaped from me and she smiled. She grew more and more passionate, throwing her emotions about the upcoming events into satisfying her desires and making me happy. She grew closer and closer to my lips, knowing I was burning for the simple taste of them. She lingered around my chin, pulling away when I tried ever so subtly to turn my head up so she would actually kiss me. She took her time to torture every ounce of my body until finally she slid her leg over my lap and rewarded me for my patience.

I had never made out with Rachel before the war ended. I'd always been too nervous around her, too afraid of what that might imply. And ok, I'll admit it, I was a little embarrassed. After the war, I realized that I had nothing left to lose but her and I focused on making her my priority. I could pretty much feel that in her too, at least I was sure I could once she pinned me down while I was doing my math homework and commenced our first make out session ever. It quickly became one of her ways of taking out her pent up anger and aggression and I'll admit that I liked that way more than the raging fights she used to pick with me. After a while, not even that would subdue her. She took it farther one night while her sisters and her mother were out at a neighborhood barbeque. The sex had been amazing, especially when you consider the fact that it was both of our first times. And it continued until our relationship was a much physical relationship as it was emotional.

Now, in the car, I felt Rachel slip into her automated mode. Working and manipulating my body until her rage, her fear and her nerves were all under her control. She worked until she was satisfying, biting my lip and tasting my skin. She didn't care that she was driving me crazy under the weight of her. She pulled away too soon, before I had even begun to get my fill. With a quick kiss she slid off and fixed her hair in the mirror, catching her breath while I was still struggling to inhale.

"Ok, I'm ready," she said, turning to look at me. "Let's go."

She climbed out of the car and adjusted her dress. Looking at her, I felt the amazing and overwhelming sense of just how much I wanted to be with her until the end of time. She walked through the crowd of the airport as if she had the magical ability to part crowds—something I didn't doubt she actually had. I walked besides her, a little removed from the bubble which surrounded her. She occasionally paused to look beside her and make sure I was there. I always was.

Their plane was getting in at the fourth terminal. People surrounded the gates, all waiting for their loved ones. They could get no further than security. Rachel and I had other plans. We flashed our Diamond Security passes to the guards who looked at us stunned. They had obviously never seen them before, which was understandable considering the only people who had them were CIA Top Officials, the President and Vice President and us. They were our gifts for saving the world, allowing us to go wherever, whenever. The guards stuttered their apologies and offered us our own guards to the airport. We politely declined and were allowed past the gates.

Once again, I followed Rachel who always knew where to go. We passed ticket holders waiting desperately for their delayed flight to Miami to get there before the end of the day. We passed a newly married couple in which the husband was attempting to convince his new bride that planes were perfectly safe, there was nothing to worry about, just think of all the fun they'll have in South Beach. I smiled slightly knowing that our honeymoon would be somewhere quite more remote and I wouldn't have to worry about convincing Rachel to get on the plane. I saw my smile reflected on her face and I reached out carefully to take her hand, ready to pull away if I saw any signs of rejection. She relaxed in my grip and though she continued to lead, she was careful that she was never too far away from me.

We arrived at gate nine at 5.45, only to find out that the plane had already docked and was ready to unload. Upon learning that, I felt Rachel stiffen at the realization of what was going to happen, that she couldn't turn around and there was no going back. Granted that didn't mean she was going to try. I caught her hand before she had managed to get past the eighth dock. She attempted to pull away from me, begging me to let her go. I could see the tears on her face. She was terrified and weak. I could see the blame that I had fought so hard to get off her face reemerge. She still hated the fact that she didn't save Jake.

"What if she blames me? What if she asks me why I let him die? What if… she hates me?" I watched her fade within herself. Once again, I brought her hand to my lips, in such a very different fashion than I had in the car. This was gentle. Rather than the violent passion that we'd shown in the car, I was careful to gently embrace her. Taking her into my arms, I kissed her hair and cheeks. I took her palm again and drew the tiny circles I knew she loved onto them.

"She won't," I said in a tone that I hoped she would believe, "You've already talked to her. You already know."

She nodded, turning her head to look at the unloading airplane. People were getting off, slowly descending down the long terminal to where we were waiting, not for them, but for two very select and distinct passengers. People filed past us and with each one, Rachel drew me closer and closer. I wrapped my hands around her waist, clinging to her with my own anticipation. I was anxious to see how this all would play out.

Finally, I saw two familiar forms, clutching onto each other in much the same way I was holding onto Rachel. The woman's arm was intertwined around the man's waist and it was clear that he was the only thing keeping her from falling on the ground. I felt Rachel stop breathing, and even as far away as I was, I could see the woman stop breathing. In fact, everything stopped. The four of us were suddenly suspended in a time warp which took us all the way back to the last days we'd seen each other; the last day of the war, the memorial, the burial… It'd been too long. The man dragged the woman towards us and I, doing my part, drug Rachel closer as well. She put up little resistance. Soon, we were standing before each other, the four remaining Heroes—no, the four remaining Animorphs—together once more.

We kept our distance from each other at first. Marco looked apprehensively at Rachel, and I the same way at Cassie. Neither of us was quite sure what to do. So, I stepped forward. I let go of Rachel's hip and crossed the no man's land to greet Marco. I held out my hand which he shook, dropping Cassie's defense.

"Hey man," he said with a sly grin as if he'd known exactly what that meant.

"Hey, what's up? How was your flight?" Slowly we pulled away from the two girls, leaving them to their own devices of carrying themselves.

From behind us, we heard the slow footsteps towards the center. We both turned to watch as the two reached up between them to close the space. Cassie broke first, collapsing into Rachel's arms. Rachel wrapped her arms around her smaller counterpart. Together, they fell onto the floor in what would seem like to those outsiders as a pathetic heap, but to us it was the magic we've been waiting years for.

"What do you say," Marco asked me, "Should we leave 'em?"

I nodded and together we made our way to a coffee shop across the gate. From the little table we could watch the two newly reunited best friends as they caught up on years of stories, gossip and tales. We'd gone through three cups of coffee and six trips to the bathroom before either of them were ready to get up from the floor (they had incurred the wrath of three flight attendants before Rachel made an announcement that she had a freaking Diamond Security pass and the next person who made one comment was getting reported). They made their way to us hand in hand, and once they were in front of us, I got up to kiss Cassie.

"Hey Cassie, it's good to see you!" She nodded and turned her head to look at me.

"I've missed you Tobias," she said truthfully.

"Raaaaaaaachel, long time no see!" Marco energetically stood up to embrace my fiancée. He got about two feet away before Rachel growled and declared that if he took one more step she'd rip his balls off and feed them to him through a straw.

"She's grown more cynical in her old age," he whispered to me loudly enough for everyone to hear.

The episode broke the tension between us. It was back to normal as everyone slowly slid into their former roles. The walk back to the car was definitely not quiet. The four of us had a lot of catching up to do and we fully intended to do it in the fifteen minute window. It continued right up until Rachel and Cassie climbed in the back, clutching onto each other and whispering about something they obviously didn't want us to hear. I slid into the driver's seat and Marco followed suit with the passenger's side.

The whispering continued, leaving Marco and I up to our own devices.

"So, how's it going?" He asked, indicating back to where the girls sat.

"It's going good," I said, "Really good."

But of course Marco being Marco decided this wasn't good enough. "No man," he whispered, "how's the sex?"

I could see what happened next in my rearview mirror and yet I made no attempt to stop it. Rachel brought her hand back and allowed it to not-so-delicately make contact with Marco's head. She promptly went back to the conversation with Cassie as if nothing happened.

"The sex is great, Marco. Amazing actually," I whispered and from the back of the car, I could see Rachel smile slowly.

She reached forward and took the palm of my hand.

"We're engaged you know," she said. I was taken aback. It was the first time we'd told anyone that this was the case.

"You are?" Marco asked; the disbelief clearly evident in his voice.

"Yea." I nodded, grasping Rachel's hand, "we are."

"Lucky bastard." He muttered, earning another slap from Rachel.

"Guys knock it off," Cassie added.

"She's the one who hit me!"

"You're the one who inquired about our sex lives!"

Listening to this, it felt normal again, it felt right. Jake may be dead and the war may be over, but that car ride home made me feel as if no matter what happened, we'd always be together for the rest of our lives. We lived for each other now, and everything felt right.


End file.
